


Escapology

by jihyunkim



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-08 17:06:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14110041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jihyunkim/pseuds/jihyunkim
Summary: Wataru and Tori's practice session features a little story time.





	Escapology

Tori hated training with Wataru. Or well, he used to. It's hardly his favorite way to spend time, but he had learned a lot. He was getting better, stronger- one day it would make a difference. After a particularly grueling session, Wataru allowed him a ten minute break, likely before moving onto something equally difficult. Tori sat down on the bench, watching Long Hair incredulously as he continued his exercises without showing a hint of fatigue. Then, he noticed something interesting.    
  
"What's wrong with your finger, Long Hair?" Tori asked, watching Wataru's left hand with some vague curiosity. The magician stopped what he was doing and produced a rose, which conveniently hid his ring finger, much to Tori's annoyance. He  _ finally _ found a flaw (outside of Wataru's personality) and he was going to ignore his question?!    
  
"I am not used to our princess paying such close attention!" Wataru praised ( _ was _ that praise?), and he grinned. There was... something off, though. Tori didn't like that at all. However, Wataru merely went on with his usual theatricality and bowed deeply, offering Tori the rose. "I'm honored." Before Tori got a chance to inspect the jester's hand, Wataru twirled away, and Tori groaned, throwing the rose to the ground in disgust.   
  
"Whatever. Are you going to tell me or not?"    
  
"Ah, that is a tale full of adventure! One with a fearsome crew of pirates, a magical amulet, a charming shepherd..." Tori decided to tune him out, uninterested in his useless rambling. Wataru was flailing his arms around so much that Tori couldn't even  _ see _ the finger in question, so he stood and reached out to grab him mid-gesture. To their mutual surprise, he caught Wataru's wrist with a far tighter grasp than the fool would've thought him capable of having.    
  
"Don't do anything funny," Tori commanded, as he inspected Wataru's hand. Yes, his finger was crooked. Not by much, but it was enough. It was more than enough. "You're not perfect. I knew it. I  _ knew _ you weren't, Long Hair!" Tori couldn't help it- he had been waiting for what seemed like ages to see the Oddball fail, to show that he really was human. He looked between Wataru’s face and his finger and  _ laughed _ .   
  
Wataru, tired of playing along, replaced his captive hand with a water bottle and ignored Tori's indignant cry. "You know how to shatter this fool's heart, my dear Hime-kun." He spared his hand a quick glance, and Tori could have sworn there was something more than feigned despair in his expression. However, he'd waited too long to let this go.   
  
"Tell me how it happened or I'm telling the President." Tori's arms were crossed and he looked every bit the spoiled child that he consistently was at the beginning of the year.    
  
"And what if he already knows?"    
  
"Why else would he keep you around...?" The question was more of a mumble. Tori averted his eyes from the jester and knit his brows in frustration. It was infuriating! Even his discovery didn't matter! Why couldn't he win? Why couldn't Long Hair  _ go away _ ? He was used to having everything he wanted, but he couldn’t just ask for Wataru’s talents. He'd never be that good. He'd never win an audience over the way he did. Despite all of his work, he was still the weakest member of fine, and Wataru's presence was a constant, unwelcome reminder.    
  
Tori thought that finding something in Wataru that wasn't flawless or deliberate would make him feel better, but... so what? Tori had ten normal, straight fingers. Wataru only had nine, but he could make magic with them. Tori couldn't. What did it matter, if he was still inferior?    
  
Wataru watched him, both unusually still and quiet. It made Tori angrier- what if Long Hair knew what he was thinking? It wouldn't surprise him, when he could do everything else. Ugh, what if he _ liked _ this? The thought made Tori want to cry, but he wouldn't give Wataru the satisfaction. Instead, he turned around.    
  
Wataru stepped forward, standing next to him. No odd poses, no leaning right in front of Tori's face. He let out an uncharacteristically  _ normal _ sigh. "When this Hibiki Wataru was a child, not much younger than the fair princess, he was already a performer, beloved by all who witnessed his work," Wataru started, voice softer than Tori thought he'd ever heard. "He worked hard to create new and unusual tricks to delight his audience." He paused there. Tori finally looked up at him and was surprised to see that he almost looked human.    
  
Maybe he was, sometimes.   
  
"He needed, desperately, to be everything they expected of him, without them knowing all of his abilities weren't strictly natural." After all, one of his trademarks was the ability to make every move seem effortless. "But, what everyone -  _ even _ Hibiki Wataru - forgets is that he _ is  _ human."    
  
Tori watched him closely, eyes wide. Sure, he'd said that many times, but it was always when he received praise. Tori had always thought he was fishing for more compliments with that act.    
  
"One night, long after his parents fell asleep, young Wataru was practicing his escapology. It.. ended poorly," he said, wiggling his left hand fingers with a small smile on his face. "He was unable to tell anyone." Wataru didn't go into the details of  _ why _ , but Tori understood, more than he thought he would.    
  
"It healed after some time, though incorrectly."    
  
"Oh." Tori looked towards his own hands, wondering how Long Hair managed that. Didn't it hurt? How did he keep it a secret? He couldn't decide if he felt better or worse.    
  
"Oh," Wataru mirrored softly. Then, as if he could sense - or shared - Tori’s discomfort, he fell back into his usual act, and with it the air in the practice room became easier to breathe. “I believe your break is over, Hime-kun!” he declared loudly, making Tori cringe and complain under his breath (though it was much of an act as Long Hair’s performance).

**Author's Note:**

> Every day I cry about Tori being jealous of Wataru. What's worse is that this is only a mild exaggeration. It's really like every 3 days or so because I love to fixate on the things that make me Sad. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this! Kudos and comments are very much appreciated, you know the drill. <3


End file.
